'Nasty' Mido just the job for Boro

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has admitted he signed Tottenham's Egypt striker Mido to give his side a nasty edge.

The 24-year-old striker, whose work permit went through last night, is joining his eighth club after being shown the door at Spurs by Martin Jol.

He is expected to make his debut at Fulham tomorrow with Boro's new signings Tuncay Sanli and Jeremie Aliadiere struggling to make an impact, and Everton target Ayegbeni Yakubu playing like a man with a £10million move on his mind.

Stewart Downing's rasping shot against a post was Boro's solitary effort in their second defeat of the season at Wigan on Wednesday and Southgate is aware his side are struggling.

He said: "The squad needs an edge. I don't mind a bit of nastiness because we are in a man's world and sometimes we need to stand there and say: 'Bring it on'.

"Mido is a very single-minded lad who won't suffer nonsense. If you want to progress you need players with a edge and I've seen already in training that he will make demands of other players."